We trying to fix a 1983 volvo 244 model, prob fuel intake

Post by **billofdurham** » 21 Feb 2007, 16:42

Fluids:

Brakes still DOT 4. Brake fluid collects moisture and, as the car has been standing for so long, I would advise changing the fluid. Your manual will tell you how to do this, but don't be afraid to ask if you need help.

Auto box Type F or G. Does not matter if it is AW 70 or 71.

Differential SAE 90. It should not be necessary to change this. Just check to see if there is enough in the unit.

Coolant 50/50 antifreeze/water. The antifreeze also contains a rust inhibitor to keep the cooling system in good order. It is recommended that you use it all year round.

Drain the old fluids before adding new.

A second oil and filter change will not hurt things and could remove some of the harmful deposits. Always do oil changes when the engine is at operating temperature. A cold engine will not empty properly.

Bill.

sergitin32 · Post by **sergitin32** » 28 Feb 2007, 04:50

volvo 244 1983. Canada Made.

My car doesn't come with a catalytic converter, as this is obviously a must for controling, meaning making much lower bad emitions ... and this way i could make it through aircare tests and of course take care of enviroment which makes me really enthusiastic about purchasing one of these...

what do you think? should i get one? which? all models i've been checking say for fuel injected cars, i guess this is cuz they can read oxigen levels and make changes on the injecton and then on the mix???

would like to do so too on my single carburetor B21A, could I? meaning at least having some oxigen sensor and some reading inside the car so i know how is the mix doing and if i should make it closer to the famous 14.7:1 oxigen-fuel proportion just by adjusting some in my intake mecanism?

one more thing, the retailer told me my model has power steering, but i had noticed it's really hard and feels rough when turning left and relativly much more eassily turning right?? what could this be?? any ideas related to the car been stand for such a long time?

how do i meassure the oil level in the differential?

thank you one more time... you've been a great help to me, and my volvo.
have a very nice day.
sergio.

Post by **billofdurham** » 28 Feb 2007, 12:31

I don't think you will be able to fit a catalytic converter as it does require fuel injection. I have checked with several suppliers and no-one makes a unit to fit your particular car. It would be pointless fitting one from a fuel injected Volvo as it would cause more problems.

Your problem with the power steering could be due to it standing for so long. Check the fluid level using the dip stick attached to the cap of the power steering fluid tank. Check it cold and it should be between 'Min' & 'Max'. Other possible problems are air in the system or wear on one side of the system.

On the rear of the differential, near the top, is a filler plug. Unscrew this and the oil should be level with the bottom of the hole. If it is low add some Hypoid Sae 90 gear oil. If you want to change the oil, which should not be necessary as they were intended to last the life of the car, there is a drain plug at the bottom of the diff. Drain the oil hot. For an oil change you would need 1.3 litres of oil.

Bill.

sergitin32 · Post by **sergitin32** » 01 Mar 2007, 23:33

thats it, i checked out cold and its fine between the max and min.

in case it has any ware in the system what should i check??

bad news about the catalytic converter, but's ok, i hope simply to pass air care witout it.

have a nice day,
sergio.

Post by **billofdurham** » 02 Mar 2007, 12:05

in case it has any ware in the system what should i check??

As the car has been standing for some time try running it to see if anything is sticking in the power steering system. This may loosen whatever it is.

Some Volvos had a problem with the rack appearing to stick on one side, especially when they were cold. My 960 did, but I drove it for a few more months before replacing the rack.

There is very little that you can check and it is usually easier to replace the steering rack than to repair it.

Bill.

sergitin32 · Post by **sergitin32** » 06 Mar 2007, 04:07

Since I discovered two of my spark plugs covered in oil, can't stop thinking about doing a valve job to my car and chek also this way if there is any loosing in any of the piston, since the car is been used not that much (154000 km) and driven by an asian lady mostly, I don't really think the rings have suffered much... so it's more possible to me the valve's seals are not so good and its dropping oil down... and since being an old car valves don't seat that well so it dropes to the engine chamber and burn with the combustion.

other thing is since i did the chamber cleaning the car is loosing kinda lots of black oil or oily stuff through the exhaust... actually never saw it before but maybe never checked before the cleaning anyway... so, to me is obvious that some oil is reaching the combustion chamber... and more likely from upper, the camshaft, than from the low part or bad gasket... HOPEFULY cuz we can't really afford anything else but a valve job...and a gaskets kit.

Do you have any pracitce advices... for example how to screw out and in the bolts for the valves block section... i know i need some torque wrench i dont have, but i am asking friends to chec for one soon... also know there is spome like an ordr of screwing in and tightening...

what should i use to make the valves seated fine?? meaning what fine sanding substance, i think graphite is ok since i remember my uncle doing it with some alike.

how loose can pistons be without any problem?? i gues nothing, but i think certain grade could exist with minimun risk of oil coming up?

really looking foward to do this... would be great, just timing, valve job, change oil, go for a long run and air care would be my goals this week and next.

thanks 4 all Bill and have a good day.

Post by **billofdurham** » 06 Mar 2007, 16:07

so it's more possible to me the valve's seals are not so good and its dropping oil down.

I agree with that. The seals have probably dried out if the car has not been run regularly. It could also be the cause of the black smoke.

To do a valve job you do need some special tools: torque wrench, which you have mentioned; a valve spring compressing tool, which you can probably hire and a valve lapping or grinding stick. You also need coarse and fine valve grinding paste. The coarse paste would only be used if the valve seats were badly worn, usually you should get away with fine.

Before you start get a piece of cardboard and punch 8 holes in it. Number them 1 - 8. When you remove the valves start at the front of the engine and place the first valve in hole 1 and so on. This means that the valves will be replaced in the right place when you re-build the engine.

also know there is spome like an ordr of screwing in and tightening...

The cylinder head bolts must be removed and replaced in the order shown here. The engine must be cold or you will run the risk of warping the cylinder head.

It is not very clear on the picture but the front of the engine is at the top.

I don't think you will be able to measure the wear on the pistons without removing them, but at that mileage I don't think it will be necessary.

I hope I have covered everything. Good luck with your valve job.

Bill.

sergitin32 · Post by **sergitin32** » 07 Mar 2007, 16:32

in the torque section for the cylinder head bolts says after having the engine idling for 10 minutes: correct the valve clearance and retorque?

meaning after i did the right torque i should apply more cuz they get loose with heat? or some like this? can you tell me... thou i think the explanation is rising in my mind... just would like to hear for real.

i wonder this since i know its never convinient to tight something with the engine hot... and i dont doubt its the right thing to do since they say so, just trying to understand why, and how... i guess would follow the same order as i did the first tightning...

tomorrow will do timing, cant wait to find some of the tools for the valve job... how can this oil burning affect the aircare test? could i do the valve job after the air care, cuz i might have a friend with the right tools but we would need to go to his place since its his bussiness and his tools. and kinda far.

so maybe i can pass aircare even if oil is burning and next free time from work go there to do the rest of the stuff... oil changin and break fluids changing as well...

the steering has been improoving as the car has move a little more, i hope with full time use maybe it gets much better... if not would try doing something about it.

thanx alot bill.
have a nice time and good luck on everything.
sergio.

Post by **billofdurham** » 08 Mar 2007, 12:04

meaning after i did the right torque i should apply more cuz they get loose with heat? or some like this? can you tell me

I had taken that from a manual that I use a lot, and I must be honest I did not read it thoroughly so I missed the bit about re-torquing the head bolts. None of my other manuals say to do this so I asked my friend who is a Volvo technician. He says it is no longer necessary to do the re-torque as a different type of bolt is being used. He agreed that the bolts should be torqued in 3 stages as in my previous post and that you must not forget the 3rd stage of tightening them a further 90 degrees.

About the aircare test I think you may have difficulty if the engine is burning oil as it will affect the emissions.

Hopefully the steering will continue to improve. My friend said that he had known cases like yours where there was nothing wrong with the steering apart from lack of use.

Bill.

sergitin32 · Post by **sergitin32** » 10 Mar 2007, 23:33

the other day me and my friend texted the compression in every cilinder. It started above 150 psi and rised in 3 or 4 strokes to 175, which says the manual is the standard, so no worries about compression, that releases me of lots of worries.

checked the spark plugs and they all dirty again even when they were cleaned like 20 days ago, meaning YES there is oil burning. so would considere the valve job eventually, but would prefear pass air care before.

with some difficulty we did the timing and left it aroun 7 degrees or a little more... but then the idling seamed to rise some, and since we dont have how to meassure the RPM we dont know if its fine for the aircare requirements.

One thing we missed cuz didnt know how to do was making the mix richer... suppose its in the carburator but truelly didnt wanna risk making a mess of it since its a really delicated thing to do.

Can you enlight us about this?

Other thing would be helpfull is this: Is there any tool so I can meassure the mix, how rich or poor it is in FUEL/AIR proportion so i can make the correct adjustments?

I just saw this on sale on craig's list: "Air mass meter" what is this? is it ussefull for my case?

One thing we found too was the vacuming hoses coming to the distributor were not vacuming... how can i know if something wrong? Could you tell me how to meassure vacum and where so i can know the closest possible the diagnosis for this vacume lacking?

Cuz we did it, but not so sure if we were doing well.

Thank you very much Bill...

best regards.

Sergio.